Confining garment



May 9, 1950 J. A. MARTiN CONFINING GARMENT Filed Jan. 29, 1949 IN V EN TOR. JOSEPH A. MARTIN ATTORNEY Patented May 9, 1950 Joseph Ai-cMartin Elizabetm: Ni Ji, assignor: to:

Fiexnit Gompany; 11105,; Elizabeth, N. J a cor poration ,1 of New- Jersey Application January-"29, 1949; SeiialNb; 73, 589

(Cli..2 -43)" 3--Glaims,

1 H The present invention relatestto :confinine gah ments such as girdlesand more particularly-to such a'garment that isconstrn'cted so asfito givesubstantial support to the abdomen of the? wearer.

Conventional girdles are made froma torso encircling tube liK-efabric *that is usuallyi formed from an elastic material; preferably one having atWo=-way-- stretch. Su'ch::girdl'es shape and confine the body of the wearer'whereby-theygive to -it thedesiredshape-and contour.

Garments of thistype, because ot their re;- sili'ency which fiowsfrom the el'asticsthread or yarn: incorporated in trie -material" from which they are made and since they are not nsually provided with vbones or stays; have a tendencyc to become loose on the body:whereby-thengarment loses its tightness and bodyshapingwquaiities.

Further, suchrgarments liaveanottprovid'ed the desirable support to the abdomenaof 'the' wearer with the result that 'the fieshiof the;wearer-p110- trudesabove-the upper edgeaoflthe "garment'jn. thefront;andfatthessides thereof:

The present invention thereforescontemplatesz the provision of a girdle so constructedLthatsabdominalzsupport is providednwhichr produces a desired smooth, fiat contour;-when.- wornrandzconw trolszthe waist'of the wearer holdinggita taut;

The-presentinvention further contemplates the: provision of a confining garment or girdIe'W-hich has a belt arranged thereon ats-thee-upper-edge thereof; which. belt is so: constructed: that za-;tensionisprovided'laterally around the body at the; upper edge of the garmentand l below this an up.

w-ardrlpull and'support, whichtogether prevent the bodygoithe wearer from protrudingeor. bulgeing' over, the upper edge-10f the garment. This, beltgives'tothe wearer ofamy garmenttaefeeling of true support: that gives; shape z andz-comiorttto. the body ofxthe wearer.

intorider to accomplish. thishnusualiand-rhitheerto. unrealized hody: support, IMQIDQQSG making the beltof two parts from astabricc which stretchable. only in oneedirection; thatiiszeithen Such material is preferalolv woveniandmadezfrcm; an inelastic: thread. and an; elastic threadz; Insuch-.materia1, the threads cross-oneianotheriin the warp or. weftidiriection..andisince,one. of: these. threadsis elastic :and the other inelastic, the maeterial stretches only in one: direction ;that is eithen lengthwiseof. the material.- or crosswise thereof.

The materialibrming; the upper; .partno'f, the, belt is cut so that therelasticathreadsithereof 2-, whereas ,ttheamaterial forming the-slower part? of the-belt: is cut :onthebias sothat. thishlowerparti is given a two-way stretch Oil the bQdYOflthE wearerofthexgarment:

Thus; the upperpart-ofiazbelt according to my: invention will: be tensioned laterally around the: body'of? the: wearer and at the samev time theinel-a-stic: threads of: this: part: of thfljbeltihflYGf a1 pnlland:snpportnpwardly'or-longitudinallyalong therhody-of the wearer: This preventsathezfieslr.

of, the, wearer from-protruding :or; bulgingoverthe: edge of the garment.

At: the. same: time, the lower: part: of: thervbelt, since: the :material, formingzit isa-cut onsthe-rbias;

ahdomenandghelps prevent fatiguegivingctothe: wearer; d the -garment a feeling; of well being.-v

These,- other and further. objects and advanr tagesvofi the present: invention:: will, more fully; apgearg-fromthe following description.- and the drawinglappended thereto, in which Rig- 1.. is -a,-ifrontview-. of: aconfining garment according to my invention,

Fig. 2; is 5a. frontview': of, the garment .on-the, torso :of ,aawearer.

Eig. 3&iSa-Side1-Vietf of the garment on the torso of a wearer.

Referring now tothe drawing; the confining garmentorgirdle Hi, which may be-ofthe con-- ventional :k-nitted or woven fabric preferably hairing-afltwo-wayf StlBtChriS prefer-ably trimmed at; the upperredge withathe conventional rubber tapeor binding 12 and at the lower edge with a similar conventional-rubber tape or binding l4;

Theiillustrated girdle It isof thety-pe formed from a seamless, unitarysheath or tube ofstretcha able, elastic, knitted: material, though it will be, understood that thespecific type of confining garment is not-a featureiof the invention I which may be. applied to any-rother type'of confining garment, v v

The garment; List-provided attheeiront and, rear. thereon with conventional, hose supporters. orrgarters vi 6, which. are "spaced; around and ex-i tend cdownlfromithelowerzedge;I t.

.At -the a-fliOIlt-y oi the garment, it, .I" provide the.- preierably fitzessidedi panel H3, such astheone; illustrated having the shape eta keystone; which: panelis madefrem any non-stretchab1e fabric, such assatin; sateen cotton and thelike.

The upperiedgeifl of thepanel-or baseof the;

keystone isrsewna to the garment under ther bindsingi on tape t2, The,.-twopsides 2ijand-z4l of the panel, which fiareslightly out toward-the sides encirclethe body of thawearerlqofj thagarnient 553- ZSVandiZBi down;iroimtheyupper edge ZQ-areseA- 3 cured by a line of double or feather stitching 30, with the apex 3| of the pentagon or keystone I8 pointing down toward the lower edge l4 of the garment and preferably spaced thereabove.

The lower sides 32 and 34 of the panel extend down inwardly from the sides 22 and 24 to meet at a point 3| at the center of the garment to close the preferably keystoned shaped panel, which is uniformly spaced at the longitudinal center line of the garment l0.

Secured to the garment l0, underneath the sides 22 and 24 of the panel l8 by the same line of double or feather stitching 30, I provide on each side thereof the strap members 36 and 38, which preferably together with the panel form the belt support of my invention.

The upper components 40 and the lower components 42 of the strap members are made from a material that stretches only in one direction, such as a woven material, the woof threads 44 of which are made from an elastic thread or yarn and the warp threads 46 of which are made from an inelastic thread or yarn.

Upon cutting the upper components 46, which are in the shape of a parallelogram, the smaller side of which is secured to a side 22 or a side 24, and sewing it to the garment (after each strap member 36 and 38 is formed, as will be described), the elastic woof threads 44 will be positioned laterally around the torso or body of the wearer at substantially right angles to the sides 22 and 24 of the panel l8.

This tension therefore is around the body of the wearer and will prevent the flesh from extending beyond the upper edge l2 of the garment, holding it in to prevent any bulges of the flesh Or rolling down of the garment. This tension gives a feeling of well being and prevents the edge of the garment from cutting into the flesh of the wearer.

Each lower component 42 is substantially triangular in shape and is secured to the lower edge of the upper component 40 along the longer side of the triangle preferably by the line of double or feather stitching 48, the shorter sides of the upper 40 and lower 42 components being secured to the panel l8 and the garment by the stitching 30, as previously described.

Thus the widest part of the lower component 42 is secured to the panel and garment and narrows in width so that at its outer end it is secured to the outer or free end 4| of the upper component 4D underneath the tape or binding 59 (strap member 38, Fig. 1).

Referring to the other strap member 38, the lower component 42 is secured at its narrowest outer end to the outer or free end 43 of the upper component 49 underneath the tape 50 and to which free end is secured the strip 45, on which hook eyes are mounted as will be described.

In order to give to the lower components 42, a stretch which is both lengthwise and crosswise of the garment when it is worn, I cut the fabric from which these lower components are made on the bias and sew the lower component to the upper component and the strap members to the fabric so that the elastic warp threads 45 are positioned diagonally of the garment. Thus, as illustrated in the figures of the drawing, the elastic threads of the lower component 42 are inclined to pull upwardly whereas the elastic threads of the upper component are substantially horizontally disposed to pull around the body.

The strap members 36 and 38 are sewn to the panel I8 so that when the garment is worn the hypotenuse or outer edge 52 of the lower components 42 are substantially a continuation of the corresponding lower edges 32 and 34 of the panel l8.

The strap members 36 and 38 may be secured together by any suitable means, for example by the hooks 54 spaced along the outer edge 4| of one strap member and the eyes 58 spaced along the strip 45 on the other strap member 36. In order that the diameter of the belt formed by the strap members may be adjusted to the size of t e body of the wearer and thus tighten the belt or band in the degree desired, I provide a series of spaced eyes along one of the strap members 36, as illustrated.

When the strap members are hooked together, they form a belt which functions in the manner heretofore described to hold in the flesh of the wearer, give to it the desired support and hold the garment flat and taut on the wearer, the panel I8 serving to assist this function and therefore preferably being provided.

It will of course be understood that the hooks and eyes on the strap members may be omitted in which case these strap members are continuous and integral so that the belt completely encircles the waist as a unit.

I have illustrated my invention as applied to a fabric in the form of a sheath or tube which has been made into a girdle but it will of course be understood that the belt or band of my invention may be applied to a garment which has definite, stylized form or shape so that there is provided an upward, diagonal pull in conjunction with the tension around the body of the wearer to effect an abdomen flattening function.

While I have described my invention in detail, the example given is illustrative and is not given as a limitation since other modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Hence, the invention is to be understood as limited only as indicated in the appended claims in which the intent is to set forth all the novelty over the prior art.

I claim:

1. A tubular girdle having a two-way stretch and an upper edge and lower edge, a panel in the shape of a keystone and secured to the front of the girdle with the base of the keystone at the said upper edge of the girdle and the apex of the keystone extending toward the lower edge, and located along the longitudinal center line through the front of the girdle, said panel formed from a non-stretchable material, the sides of the keystone panel extending down from the base thereof toward the lower edge of the girdle spaced equally from said longitudinal center line through the front of the girdle, a strap member secured to the girdle and the panel along the sides of the panel keystone extendin down from the base thereof toward the lower edge, each strap member having a free end and comprising an up- 'per and lower part, each part formed from a material having elastic woof threads and inelastic warp threads whereb the material is stretchable only in one direction, the upper part out and secured to the girdle and panel with the inelastic warp threads positioned around the girdle to stretch laterally around the girdle and the lower part out and secured to the girdle and the panel with the elastic woof threads on the bias to provide a two-way stretch, said lower part in the form of a triangle the base of which is secured to the girdle and the panel and the side extend- Il ing out from said base of the triangle secured to an edge of the upper part of the strap member to the free end of said strap member, and cooperating means on the free end of each strap member for detachably securin the strap members together.

2. A girdle, a panel secured to the girdle at the center thereof and equally disposed on each side of a longitudinal center lin through the front of the girdle, a strap member secured to the girdle and panel and extending into a free end, each strap member equally spaced from said longitudinal center line, each strap member comprising an upper and lower part, said upper part in the shape of an elongated parallelogram and said lower part in the shape of a triangle, each strap member extending from the panel into a free end, a shorter side of the parallelogram shaped upper part and the base of the triangular shaped lower part being secured to the girdle and the panel, the shorter side of the triangular shaped lower part being secured therealong to the adjacent longer side of the parallelogram shaped upper part, the upper and lower parts being formed from a material stretchable only in one direction, the upper part cut and secured to the girdle and the panel to stretch laterally around the girdle and the lower part cut and secured to the girdle and the panel on the bias to give to said lower part a two-way stretch when Wearing the girdle and cooperating means on the free end of each strap member for securing the strap members together when wearing the girdle.

3. A tubular girdle having a two-way stretch and an upper edge and a lower edge, a panel in the shape of a keystone, said panel secured to the front of the girdle with the base of the keystone at the said upper edge of the girdle and the apex of the keystone extending toward the lower edge, said panel located along the longitudinal center line passing through the front of the girdle from the upper edge to the lower edge, said panel formed from a non-stretchable material, the sides of the keystone of the panel extending down from the base thereof toward the lower edge of the girdle and spaced equally from said longitudinal center line through the front of the girdle, a. strap member secured at one end thereof to the girdle on each side of the said longitudinal center line passing through the girdle, said strap member being free at the outer end thereof, each strap member comprising an upper part and a lower part, each part formed from a material woven from elastic threads lying in one direction and inelastic threads lying in the other direction and thereby stretchable only in one direction, the upper part secured to the girdle an the panel at said first mentioned end with the elastic threads positioned around the girdle and the body of the wearer to thereby stretch lateral ly around the girdle and the body of the wearer and the lower part secured to the girdle and the panel between the upper part and the lower edge of the girdle at said first mentioned end with the elastic threads positioned on the bias and to the upper part at said second mentioned end to thereby mount said lower part of said strap member with elastic threads thereof on the bias to provide a two-way stretch around the girdle and the body of the wearer, and cooperating means on the free end of each strap member for detachably securing thereat the strap members together.

JOSEPH A. MARTIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,308,870 Schloss July 8, 1919 1,445,840 Malcolm Feb. 20, 1923 1,465,105 Von Halle Aug. 14, 1923 1,857,147 Graves May 10, 1932 2,100,163 Goodman Nov. 23, 1937 2,261,547 Goodman et al. Nov. 4, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 781,035 France Feb. 18, 1935 

